


Downpour

by nutshikas



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Break Up, Eventual Romance, He Deserves Respect, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mutual Pining, Naruto is Literally the Hero of the World, One-Sided Attraction, Rain, Romance, Sad Uzumaki Naruto, Shikamaru Likes The Rain, They Bathe, They're Dumb and in Love Okay, is it fluff, perceived one-sided attraction, who knows - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-26 19:17:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19012183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nutshikas/pseuds/nutshikas
Summary: Shikamaru has always loved rainy days. He loves everyone's favorite knucklehead ninja even more





	Downpour

It was raining. Over the past few years, Shikamaru had come to realize he didn’t really mind the rain. In fact, the Nara had decided he quite liked it. He could lounge around all day playing shogi with himself or watch the deer from the back porch of the compound. They were more active when it was warm and rainy, something Shikamaru felt he could relate to. It wasn’t that he moved around more or anything, he just felt more refreshed, less tired and more willing to obey his mother’s demands for extra chores to be done (he was really hoping she hadn’t caught on).

Unlike Ino, who complained the second a droplet of water touched her hair, or Chouji, who just didn’t like to be wet, Shikamaru found he loved to walk around the much quieter village and just admire the scenery. He’d come home completely drenched and get an earful from his mother about catching cold but at this point it was just a part of the ritual. Before the war, he’d smirk a bit or chuckle whenever his father would try to pacify her to no avail.

After finishing up the chores his mother had piled onto him for the day (she was definitely figuring it out), Shikamaru stepped out of the Nara compound sans umbrella or flak jacket and just started walking. He’d normally be out for about two or three hours, but he’d left a little later than normal and could afford maybe only an hour. The street lamps were already lit and the murky grey of the sky was only getting darker as afternoon slowly gave way to evening. Less people would be out at this time of day, especially while it was raining. The vendor market was already closing up, the few restaurants along the lane illuminating his path.

When he was outside like this, Shikamaru would let loose. Not in the conventional sense per se, but in a way more personal to him. He usually didn’t have to worry about anyone bothering him and trying to pick his brain. It was easier to walk around and _emote_ without someone making a huge deal of it. Ino wouldn’t bug or pester him about going out with Chouji because she’d usually stay in with Sakura. Chouji liked to stay home and spend the day with his parents on these kinds of days, not that the Nara really minded his company. He’d actually managed to convince Chouji to come out a couple of times, but he understood not everyone liked to get completely soaked in the middle of the street.

Maybe Shikamaru’s favorite part of rainy days was the unexpected calm he experienced when he was out and about and left to his own devices. It was a good chance to get his thoughts properly in order as well. He could focus on the rain and whatever it was he pushed away into the deep recesses of his mind until a moment like this arose. Sometimes it concerned Asuma, others his own father. Other times he thought about how worried he was for Ino and her mother, how much he knew Chouza was hurting after the loss of his best friends.

The sound of soft sniffling is what snapped him out of whatever trance he was in. The brown eyed man searched the area he was in quietly before deciding to go a little out of the way to see if he could find the source of the noise. Shikamaru was on one of the more popular cobbled side roads in the village, a nice foot path for anyone sightseeing in the area, but he couldn’t find anyone. Regardless of whether or not he could see the person making the noise, he couldn’t deny he was slowly moving closer to its source. Almost immediately he came upon a small four way split in the path and glanced to his left and right. On the right further along that path he recognized a bench and someone slumped over on it. The sobbing was admittedly louder than he’d first thought but it wasn’t really like anyone but someone like Shikamaru could hear it over the roaring of the rain.

As the Nara slowly approached the bench, he could make out a familiar black jacket and shock of blonde hair. _Naruto?_ He realized as he continued his approach that it _was_ Naruto and, alarmingly, he was crying. Shikamaru hurried to his friend’s side and reached out to touch his shoulder but, in a last moment of hesitation, pulled his hand back and let it fall to his side. He stood awkwardly for a moment before shoving his hands into his pockets and clearing his throat.

Startled by the sudden noise, Naruto choked on a sob and turned to face the potential threat. When he noticed it was Shikamaru standing beside him, he sighed and quickly rubbed the moisture out of his eyes. “Oh, it’s just you, Shikamaru,” he murmured.

“Yeah, just me, same old Shikamaru,” the Nara responded, chuckling softly as he took the open seat beside the blonde. “So what’s up? What’s got you crying? Haven’t really seen that since before the war I think.” He was trying to keep the conversation light but couldn’t shake the worrying feeling he got from seeing his best friend (and longtime secret love interest) crying in the rain.

“It’s really nothing, Shikamaru. Me and Tomura broke up, that’s all,” Naruto mumbled.

“What do you mean? Broke up?” Shikamaru asked. It seemed preposterous for _anyone_ to break up with Naruto, especially someone like Tomura. He was a civilian who’d been following Naruto around for weeks after the war. They’d gotten to know each other pretty quickly and became fast friends, until one day out of nowhere Tomura asked him out.

It had come as a surprise to everyone when he accepted and they’d started their relationship, everyone assumed he was still hung up on Sasuke, but they were happy for them and Naruto looked excited just to be seen as a normal guy for once. “Why would he do that, weren’t you guys doing well?” Shikamaru remembered every painful detail of Naruto’s relationship. Naruto had told him all about him down to the number of freckles the guy had, always with that stupid lovesick grin on his face. The Nara head wished he would aim that look at him for once.

Naruto took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes before he buried his head in his hands and bent so he could rest his elbows on his knees. When he got like this, there wasn’t much Shikamaru could do but be there for him. He rubbed slow, soothing circles on the blonde’s back and just stared up at the dark grey and gloom of the sky. They were partially shaded from the rain because of the tree coverage, but a few stray drops still made it through to the silent men.

After a couple more minutes of silence, Naruto sat back up. The tears were gone but a deep-set sadness still lurked behind his bright blue eyes. “Tomura told me he only dated me because his friends said he couldn’t score with the nine-tails,” The Uzumaki suddenly announced. Shikamaru blinked one, twice, three times before he stood abruptly up from his seat.

“I’ll kill that fucking prick. You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me, you get a date with the literal hero of the village and probably all of humanity and this is what you fucking do?” Shikamaru scoffed and clenched his fists. All he could see was red. An overwhelming surge of anger started to overtake whatever else he’d previously been feeling. “Where was he last, I swear to kami I’ll make sure he-”

“Shikamaru, it’s not a big deal, really,” Naruto cut in. He placed a calming hand on the Nara’s arm. Shikamaru pulled free of the blonde’s grip and whirled on him.

“Not a big deal? _Not_ a big deal? What do you even mean?” Shikamaru demanded. He wasn’t thinking clearly, gritting his teeth to the point it started to hurt. Naruto flinched a bit; not enough for a normal person to be able to tell but enough for his best friend to notice, and he immediately clamped his mouth shut. “Sorry, I guess I kinda lost it for a sec…,” he apologized. He rubbed the back of his neck a bit in embarrassment and took his seat again.

“Jeez Shikamaru, I’ve never seen you so worked up,” Naruto joked weakly, trying to muster up a smile but the end result was a broken, heart-wrenching ghost of his usual grin. Shikamaru wanted to hold him. The smile slowly slipped away when Naruto realized the Nara wasn’t having it. “It’s really okay, man. He’s a dick. I don’t even know why it’s bothering me like this.” Stormy blue eyes met hardened brown in a tension-addled stare down before Shikamaru clicked his tongue and stood again.

“You deserve better,” he replied. Naruto laughed weakly and looked away.

“C’mon, it’s pretty expected, huh? Sure I may have saved a few people, but there’ll always be someone who doesn’t see it that way,” the Uzumaki said. “It’s fine, honestly. Can we just drop it now?” Shikamaru glanced over his shoulder at the tortured look in his friend’s eyes. He knew the blonde was trying to be strong for him, not that he needed to be, and it made his heart twist in an ugly and unwelcome way.

They stood in silence, Shikamaru with his back to the bench and completely soaked through from the rain and Naruto now slumping back to take over the majority of the space on it, until finally the Nara stretched and sighed. “Well, I guess it can’t be helped. It’s getting dark anyway. Ready to go?” He glanced behind him again, this time meeting Naruto’s gaze, the blonde looking more than a little confused.

“Go? What do you mean?” Naruto asked. Shikamaru shrugged and started walking slowly back in the direction of the Nara compound.

“I _mean_ my place is closer and it’s almost dark and my mom’s been missing you,” he replied. It only took a few seconds for Naruto to process the invitation and jog over to his side. Shikamaru didn’t really notice his presence until the rain above him suddenly stopped. When he looked up he was briefly blinded by the reflection of the top of Naruto’s favorite orange umbrella. The Nara chuckled softly to himself and moved a little closer to him. He was grateful when Naruto didn’t mention (or maybe notice) how much their hands brushed as they walked.

Upon their arrival home, Yoshino was both pleased and annoyed to have company. “Shikamaru, you should really warn me next time!” she protested. Shikamaru chuckled and toed his sandals off, then watched as Naruto did the same.

“C’mon ma, you know you always make too much food anyway,” he joked. His mother softened a bit before composing herself once again and pointing the ladle she’d been holding directly at her son.

“You two had better get changed before you catch cold _and_ ruin my nice clean floors,” she ordered. Naruto laughed a bit and scratched the back of his head a little nervously as Shikamaru rolled his eyes and led the blonde to his bedroom.

Naruto watched from the doorway as Shikamaru rummaged through his drawers searching for clothes to fit his friend. “Man, you’re too tall to fit my clothes, I’ll try to find some of Chouji’s,” the black haired man muttered softly.

Naruto was only about two inches taller than him, but two inches could mean a lot when it came to clothes, especially when Shikamaru already normally wore rather tight clothing. Where he was leaner with more subtle definition, Naruto was a bit bulkier, although it wasn’t by much. He was big enough, however, to make Shikamaru worried the taller man would rip through one of his shirts if he stretched too far, especially with his (admittedly attractive) well-defined chest. At last Shikamaru found some clothes of Chouji’s that he’d forgotten to give back. Naruto took them gratefully and watched on as Shikamaru dug some clothes out for himself.

Once Shikamaru had some clothes picked out for himself he led Naruto through the compound to the Nara baths. Sure he had his own in the head house, but these more spacious and probably more comfortable for Naruto to be in.

It seemed like the Uzumaki was being weirdly quiet, but the Nara had to remember the guy had just been dumped, he probably wouldn’t immediately get over it. “So, uh… Do you have his clothes because you and Chouji are like… together…?” Completely taken aback by his friend’s question, Shikamaru stopped walking and turned to give him an incredulous look.

“I’m sorry, what?” the Nara asked. Naruto laughed a little nervously and shrugged.

“I mean, you guys _have_ been best friends since you were kids and you’re always together even now, it only makes sense that you… You know…”

“Naruto,” Shikamaru started, rubbing his eyes with the heels of the palms of his hands, “Chouji and I broke up like three years ago a little after the war.” It was quiet for a moment before Naruto muttered a soft ‘oh’ and they continued on to the baths. Once there, Shikamaru quickly stripped, let his hair down and headed into the main part of the baths, the Naras’ famous covered onsen.

Once he entered the main area, Shikamaru strode over to the line of stools on the far wall with a bunch of buckets meant for cleaning stacked on the side. Once he arrived he grabbed a bucket and took a seat on one of the stools, scrubbing himself clean as slowly as possible.

Naruto still hadn’t emerged from the small changing and towel room, and the Nara tried not to think much of it, choosing instead to busy himself with rinsing off with the small bucket he’d grabbed. A few minutes later he noticed the Uzumaki’s presence beside him and watched from his periphery as Naruto sat on the stool beside him. They cleaned off in silence, Naruto taking a little longer to finish up because of how slowly he’d come out initially, but they entered the largest family bath at the same time afterwards.

Shikamaru tried not to notice their proximity but it was getting harder to as he watched Naruto try to find the most comfortable spot to settle in. The blonde had chosen to sit almost uncomfortably close to him, something Shikamaru couldn’t help but thank kami and whoever else was out there for.

At last he seemed to settle (a little closer than Shikamaru originally anticipated) and let out the longest sigh the Nara was sure he’d ever heard and he was the _master_ of long, introspective sighing. There was another short moment of silence before finally Naruto said, “I’m, uh… sorry about you and Chouji. And… for not knowing about it.” Shikamaru chuckled softly and shook his head.

“It’s cool Naruto, really. We weren’t super open with it because it wasn’t anyone else’s business bu our own,” Shikamaru responded. He noticed the tension in Naruto’s shoulders loosen just a bit. “We dated for awhile, but it just kinda became obvious we weren’t right for each other. That’s all.” His nonchalant answer seemed to soothe Naruto, and the darker haired man smiled.

In truth, he’d been devastated when Chouji decided to break it off. It took him a long time and some wallowing with Temari and the Sand Siblings in Suna before he could really come to terms with the fact the Akimichi had fallen out of love with him. After pining for another year, he’d woken up one morning feeling completely normal. And, like the dumbass he was, a few months later he found he was noticing more and more about Naruto.

Sure the blonde man had captured the hearts of probably everyone in the five great nations and possibly beyond, but Shikamaru just hadn’t noticed it at first. He tried to ignore that uncomfortable stir in his gut he’d previously experienced when he was around Chouji. It was stupid, he always got attached so quickly, and soon he was sure he’d fallen in love. _And you can’t even work up the courage to tell him_. He had to admit when his father told him he was a coward he hadn’t been wrong.

It had taken Chouji pinning him after training one day when they were fourteen and asking him outright how he felt for them to finally get together, and that was after the Nara had been pining for at _least_ two years prior. He was sure he’d take his feelings for Naruto to the grave, especially with the elders discussing the possibility of him marrying before he became Hokage.

The two soaked in the bath for a little longer before they mutually agreed they were getting a little lightheaded from all of the steam and heat and toweled off. A few of Shikamaru’s clansmen had filtered in by now, ready to relax and shoot the breeze. They shot the head Nara odd looks as he passed, he rarely ever came to the main baths, but didn’t say anything to him. The Nara men knew how sacred their nightly relaxation rituals were and preferred not to be interrupted, no matter how odd their visitors were. Shikamaru and Naruto quickly dressed in their dry, comfier clothes and tossed their soaked and frankly dirty clothes into a nearby laundry basket.

Yoshino had dinner ready and on the table when they made it back to the main living quarters. It was rather peaceful with Shikamaru’s mother giving Naruto the third degree, asking him why he hadn’t been around lately, if he’d found a partner to settle down with, how his Hokage training with Kakashi was going. Naruto answered every question politely and enthusiastically, but Shikamaru could see when he tensed at the thought of a partner. That tension followed him throughout the meal, a growing sadness emanating from the blonde hero and lingering in the air. Yoshino either didn’t notice or didn’t mention it.

As Shikamaru led Naruto upstairs to his room, he could sense the growing sadness and tension weighing the blonde boy down. The quiet blonde climbed into Shikamaru’s bed as the Nara killed the lights, eventually slipping under the covers to lay beside his friend.

It was quiet for awhile. Shikamaru stared up at the ceiling, acutely aware of Naruto’s presence beside him. The blonde had his back toward him and after a long stretch of silence, his half of the bed started shaking softly with the force of his sobs.

Finally, after a couple more minutes of pretending he wasn’t actually crying, Shikamaru turned to face Naruto’s back. “Do you, uh… wanna talk or anything…?” he offered awkwardly. He still wasn’t the best with situations like this, but he had to learn eventually. Luckily for him, Naruto was pretty open about how he felt, especially when it was just him and the Nara. The blonde shook his head a little and turned around, peering up at his friend through the tears.

Shikamaru knew he’d regret it later, but in that moment he didn’t really care. He carefully looped his arms around the other’s body and pulled him closer, enveloping Naruto in the warmth of his body. In response Naruto buried his face into his chest and wept quietly into the soft fabric of his shirt. Eventually, his harsher sobbing slowly waned into hushed whimpers. The shaking of his shoulders had all but stopped and the exhausted blonde eventually drifted off to sleep.

When he was finally sure the other wouldn’t wake, Shikamaru planted a gentle, lingering kiss onto Naruto’s temple. He nuzzled the Uzumaki’s soft blonde locks and sighed, inhaling the sweet smell of the Nara clan’s homespun shampoo. This felt right to him, holding the other in his arms and catching the residual scent of the soap used in the Naras’ communal baths. As Shikamaru started to drift off himself he nestled into a more comfortable position, adjusting his hold slightly around the blonde and sighing again to release the last bits of tension from his shoulders.

In the quiet tranquility of that room, it felt like no sound could be heard. Shikamaru, with a sudden burst of confidence in his close-to-sleep-addled mind, kissed Naruto’s head again and smiled.

“I love you,” he whispered, and finally fell into the heaviness of sleep.


End file.
